It
doesn’t matter what wood flooring you’re installing, all flooring has one very
important thing in common… it’s only ever going to be as good as the subfloor
underneath it.
It
doesn’t matter what the subfloor is made of, it must be proven as being strong
enough, flat enough, and dry enough, before installation can begin.
Most
flooring problems are caused by what’s below or above them, and rarely has
anything to do with the flooring itself, apart from how it responds to those
things above and below.
When
an oak floor is installed and finished, it’s too late then to realise that more
preparation work was required for the subfloor beneath, so it’s better to
insure yourself by preparing too much than too little. I’ve never heard of ‘over-preparation’
causing a floor failure in my experience but I know of plenty of problems and
floor failures caused by ‘under-preparation’.
The
most important considerations for any subfloor are as follows;
It
must be strong enough to accept the flooring, meaning that there is no ‘bounce’
when walked upon, which can not only make the finished floor feel unlike a
solid oak floor but also cause annoying creaks and squeaks later on in its life
It
must be dry enough with no risk of moisture reaching it or travelling through
it in the future (check the advised requirements with the flooring supplier if
necessary to confirm)
It
must be flat and level enough to suit the thickness of flooring being installed
upon it (completely level and flat for thinner flooring but it doesn’t need to
be perfect for structural grade flooring in some situations).
It
must be clean enough to accept whatever fixing method being used (obviously
this becomes more important if the glue down method is used, and it should have
a surface that’s strong enough to adhere to the adhesive being used with no
risk of failure in the future).
If
your subfloor is constructed of timber and it creaks before being floored, then
it will creak afterwards too, so fix the creaks before installation.
If
it’s not flat and level, then the flooring being installed will need to be
strong enough to span the ‘dips’ and ‘peaks’ without ‘giving’ or ‘bouncing’
after installation, so do the levelling work before installation.
No
matter what your subfloor is made of; timber joists, plywood, concrete etc… if
it’s not strong enough, flat enough and dry enough before your new flooring is
installed onto it… you will experience problems after installation; maybe not
immediately but sometime in the future.
These problems, however big or small, will be at best annoying, and at worst very costly and time consuming.
The
best start to any new oak flooring installation is to make sure that the
subfloor is pretty damn perfect before that installation commences because if you don't... you run the risk of floor failure thereafter.
